Number of e-bikes sold in Germany set to overtake conventional bikes in 2023

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The number of e-bikes sold in Germany might overtake conventional bikes for the first time in 2023, cycling industry associations ZIV and VDZ said.

Last year, almost every second bicycle sold (48%) in Germany was electric, the associations said presenting market figures for 2022.

“We assume that in the course of this year, for the first time, more e-bikes will be sold than non-motorised bicycles,” ZIV head Burkhard Stork said.

In the area of mountain and cargo bikes, e-bikes already have a share of around 90 percent. Despite supply chain problems in 2022, domestic bicycle production grew from 2.4 to 2.6 million, according to ZIV. Of the bikes produced, 1.72 million were e-bikes, an increase of 20 percent compared to last year.

The government plans for bicycles and e-bikes to make an important contribution to the decarbonisation of the transport sector.

“Two-thirds of all everyday journeys made by people in the city and the country can be easily managed by bicycle or e-bike,” Stork said.

“The bicycle industry is providing the mass transport mode of the future,” he added, and stressed that now politicians must deliver on the coalition agreement promise to invest millions in the expansion of cycling infrastructure.

Greenhouse gas emissions from transport in Germany have remained stubbornly high for years, and the sector has often been called the “problem child” of the country’s energy transition. It missed its greenhouse gas reduction target in 2022.

First published on Clean Energy Wire. Reproduced with permission.